Almost four fifths of Irish smokers want to quit according to research released today.
According to the Europe Quitting: Progress and Pathways Report Irish smokers come second only Luxembourg in their desire to give up.
Some 79 per cent of smokers who were surveyed here claimed they wanted to quit compared with 83 per cent in Luxembourg. The figures are well above the European average of 67 per cent.
The research among 2,482 healthcare professionals, 20,010 smokers and 22,683 non-smokers across 20 European countries also showed most people believe that young smokers under 16 years of age should be the priority for the cessation programmes.
It is estimated that approximately 7,000 people die from tobacco use in Ireland every year, costing millions of euro annually to the healthcare system.
Details of the survey commissioned by healthcare company Pfizer were welcomed by the Irish Cancer Society, the anti-smoking campaign ASH and the Irish Thoracic Society.
Speaking at the launch of the research, health promotion manager at the Irish Cancer Society Norma Cronin said while Ireland once led the world and made much progress in tackling tobacco "it is clear that we have under-achieved in relation to tobacco prevalence".
"It is the vision of the Irish Cancer Society that young people will choose a smoke-free lifestyle, that all smokers will be given an opportunity and support to quit smoking and national awareness campaigns will be sustained to educate the general public on the health consequences of smoking and motivate people to quit.
"It is important that the Government and the HSE set targets so that we can bring down the numbers of people smoking to 20 per cent by 2020."
According to a 2008 WHO report, 27 per cent of adults resident in Ireland smoke.
